Thursday, September 14, 2006

Russian Reconnaissance Group Leaves for Lebanon

MosnewsSeptember 14th, 2006, 01:01

A reconnaissance group comprised of Russian army officers left for Lebanon on Wednesday to prepare grounds for the planned Russian aid in restoration of the Lebanese infrastructure, destroyed in the recent conflict with Israel.The RIA-Novosti news agency quoted deputy head of the Defense Ministry’s press service Colonel Nikolai Baranov as saying that Russian military specialists will negotiate the place for the military base of the engineering battalion and its role in the restoration works.

The reconnaissance group is manned by 16 officers and headed by the deputy chief of the Logistics Directorate of the Russian Military Forces Lieutenant-General Ivan Tsygankov.

This Monday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said that Russia would be ready to send an engineering battalion to Lebanon by the end of this month. The minister stressed that Russian servicemen would not take part in peacekeeping operations concentrating on restoration works in the areas that are not within the peacekeepers’ responsibility zone.